Coming Home
by Gillingham
Summary: Victor Henry returns to Washington where Pam already waits for him at their apartment.
1. Chapter 1

**Setting: Victor returns to Washington to join Pam who is already there.**

Victor Henry could not quite tell which was louder, his knock on the door or the pounding of his heart. Full of positive anticipation, tone of their letters clear in his mind, he found he was also as nervous as a schoolboy on a first date. It had been so long since he last saw her. Since he last held her. There was no doubt in his mind about her feelings now, they had managed to maintain regular and almost frequent contact by mail after all, but to finally see her again – that was giving him the butterflies now. He could have telephoned from San Diego that he had managed to get onto an earlier plane than what he had cabled originally, but somehow he thought this would make a good surprise.

After what felt like an eternity he heard her at the door. A somewhat puzzled looking Pam opened the door. Her puzzlement switched to full amazement when she recognized the tanned figure in blue and gold.

"Victor!" she managed to gasp and in the same instance she launched herself at him in much the same way she had welcomed him back all that time ago in London. He took hold of her mid air and pulled her close and nothing more was said for a moment while the kisses took priority. She felt so delicious against him, just like he remembered, and his subdued grunt told Pam he had been looking forward to their reunion as much as she had.

"Gods I've missed you, Pam", he then said with such tenderness it made Pam's eyes glisten. She kissed him again, more slowly, pouring all that she wanted to say right now into the kiss. When they broke for air again she stroked his cheek, feeling the slight stubble.

"You're early! You should have rang me, I'd have come and pick you up at the airfield" she was smiling so warmly.

"Oh I managed to catch a transport plane to Baltimore and then hitched a ride with some army brass to Washington", he explained. She reached up to kiss him again and he eagerly pulled her in. Holding her now, close like this after all the months he had been dreaming and daydreaming about her, the stirrings of desire were growing stronger in him.

Pam took his hand and pulled him inside. Victor dropped his hat and briefcase onto a chair by the door (how had he managed to hold on to either?) and pulled her back into his arms.

"I'm thinking of the welcome you gave me some time ago in London", he said softly as he planted tender kisses on her lips and her cheek, making his way toward her neck. Her breathing became heavier and he felt her fingers sink into his hair at the back of his neck. The best part of their relationship had from early on been the way they always could start off from where they last said goodbye with no effort. As if they'd only said goodbye last week. They were immediately comfortable in each other's company and on the same wavelength. The way he wrapped his arms around her left little to question about how complete his longing for her had been. Her responses were open and clear to him.

"You were so tired then…" she said. He gave a little laugh.  
"It wouldn't have mattered, it's only because you didn't want to lead me astray that I didn't pull you into that bed with me…"

So this is what happens when you let desire build up over years and then unleash it. They hadn't seen each other for months, and had never before been in a position to act freely on their love and now they seemed incapable of getting any further than the entrance hall of the flat. Pam was overjoyed with Victor's return. She had spent long enough fantasizing about this moment, of thinking of all the things they could and would do once he came to Washington. But he must be so tired again, her quick calculation was that he had travelled well over 24 hours straight, and probably not in much comfort.

"You must be exhausted, but I'm awfully glad you're here early. I was already counting minutes" she said, taking his hand again to guide him deeper into the flat.

"I couldn't sit still and wait, and when I saw a bigger plane taking off I had to ask where it was going."

"Do you have to go straight to work?" she looked a little worried as she asked this. All the time they'd known each other, work had pulled them away from each other. She accepted the facts, this was who Victor Henry was, but she did hold on to a little bit of hope that his new orders would allow them some time together. For a while anyways if not permanently.

"Well, I have some leave coming and agreed and I thought I'd take some of it now and report at BuPers two weeks tomorrow. I think we're allowed a little time together."

He looked so adorable to Pam, the tenderness in his eyes – she could sink into those eyes. She'd seen this look before, at Pearl Harbor before that awful battle.

"Would you like something to drink? Or eat? I bet you haven't really stopped since you took off from Pearl", she asked, stroking his cheek again.

They had stepped into the living room, but their attention was fully on each other and they were not prepared to stand apart from each other. Victor had never set foot in this flat before and this was to be their home together but he couldn't really be less interested. All his attention was on this glorious woman who had welcomed her in with such warmth. Pam picked up on this feeling, clearly, as she made no effort to show him around. Her eyes were intently on him. The way he held her made her just about shiver with delight, every stroke, every touch bringing stronger and stronger sensations to the surface.

"I'm not that hungry right now. A drink would be fine, and maybe a shower – I feel like these clothes are beginning to grow on me. "

Pam smiled at him. "Poor lamb, he must be feeling awful", she thought. The physical attraction between them was tangible. Pam was quite happy with this plan. God knows they had waited long enough and they had certainly been apart long enough. She'd fix them drinks and take it from there. The intimacy that for her had started already earlier when she had unpacked many of his personal things in the flat grew stronger by the minute. The feeling filled her with warmth.

"Come this way" she guided him into the master bedroom she had prepared for them. She showed him to the bathroom where all his things were waiting for him and left him to it while she went to fix them the drinks. A bit early in the afternoon on a normal day, perhaps, but this was hardly a normal day.

Victor didn't waste any time in the shower, but he did shave. When he stepped out with his hair damp but combed and wearing only his robe, Pam came into the room carrying two Martinis. She handed him his and with their eyes locked they raised their glasses.

"To safe returns" she said. She was smiling, but he could also see the relief in her eyes, the residue of the worry she must have felt while he'd been at sea. He had been in pain over not being able to comfort her when she had written about the death of her ex fiancé and some of her old friends. She had endured so much sorrow and, although she never quite said it he knew, fear over him. They had a sip.

"To you, for having me" he toasted. She smiled.  
"Silly" she said, and emptied her glass. He downed his as well. It was a perfectly good Martini, but again, their attention was elsewhere.

"You know my life has been with you for years." She put her empty glass down and he did the same. Their eyes never parted and it was quite clear where they were headed.

Victor moved first to pull her back into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders and leaned into him as hard as she could. He smelled of shower and soap and feeling him against her like this without the usual uniform on was simply glorious. As soon as he had stepped out of the bathroom Victor had contemplated on the right strategy with her dress. It looked simple enough and he decided to take his chances. A slim, decorative belt was tied with a simple knot, then simple buttons at the front. She helped him though, and he appreciated it. The dress slipped easily over her shoulders and onto the floor. Victor's breathing took on a completely new tone now that he saw Pam in her light underwear. It was impossible to hold out any longer and Victor simply swept her off the floor completely into his arms and carried her to the bed. She was taken by surprise and let out a little whelp, which made them both laugh. "This is how making love should be, joy", Victor had time to think through his excitement before he lost himself in her.


	2. Chapter 2

Victor was exhausted, he really was, but sleep eluded him. All he could do was to keep Pam as close to him as possible and stare at her with a sense of wonder. She was real, she was in his arms and they had just made love in such way that Victor was not sure he'd ever be able to come down form this high. For two people who normally had no shortage of things to talk about had either been struck dumb or they had found a new level of communication. Here they were, limbs wrapped around each other, simply looking at each other, smiling. Pam stroked his temple, he rubbed lazy circles between her shoulder blades with his fingertips. Here and there the couple punctuated their new conversation with small, gentle kisses.

Eventually that conversation wound down and there were so many other things that required discussion in a more conventional manner.

"Can you really have some time off now?" Pam then asked. Their entire relationship had been one of fleeting moments between one or the other of them being pulled away to do their duty. Had there not been those weeks in London and the time they had in Moscow nothing would have come of this.

"Yes, I haven't had any since I went back to Moscow and quite frankly I made sure BuPers knew that when I was relieved," Victor explained. God knew he was a man who always did his duty, but he reckoned that with everything that had happened perhaps there could be a short gap between duties in which he could find his way to his fiancée and marry her.

"How have you coped with all this? I'm sorry you had to do this on your own," Victor then asked with some concern, making a nodding gesture to their surroundings. Pam understood he meant getting the flat ready.

"It was fine, don't worry. Like you said, Rhoda had it all organized to the final detail," Pam replied.

"Anyways, it gave me something to do and keep busy with when I didn't know for sure when you'd be coming home."

Victor looked at her with a smile. She was still young but was made of strong stuff. Of course she would cope. Pamela was the embodiment of that blitz spirit they had witnessed first hand back in London. But it didn't mean that he wasn't upset by everything that she'd had to endure. So many friends and her father gone, that awful illness she'd gone through when evacuating from Singapore – and yet she had never considered pulling out from doing her bit.

"Your solicitor has been wonderful – he's seen to all the bureaucratic hoops in all this. And I had no trouble with air priorities when I dropped your name in the right place," Pamela explained, still letting her fingers play in his short hair, railing down past his ear along his jawline, over the throat and neck and finally settling playing with his chest hair. He leaned in to interrupt the conversation with a more thorough and deeper kiss, still soft and tender.

"Good, I asked him to take care of things. Has he put the paperwork through for the marriage?" Victor was very keen on walking hi bride down the aisle. He wasn't much good at showing his affection publicly and did not expect to change in that sense regardless of how beautifully this incredible filled his soul. Marrying her was the one way he could openly declare his complete and unconditional love for her. Before God and the world, he would love her with everything that he was.

"Yes, I think it's all in order. Or will be any day now if I understood him correctly. There was one thing I wanted to talk to you about, related to this," Pamela replied. Victor raised his eyebrows quizzically, nudging her to go on.

"Would you mind terribly if I held on to by British passport?" she asked, clearly not quite sure how far his old-fashioned views on both marriages and patriotism went.

Victor looked at her for a moment, saying nothing. Did she really even have to ask that? He'd better make sure he didn't come across like some old school family tyrant. She was English, marrying him would not change that part of her identity. And she had taken part in the war effort to save her country from a peril most American civilians could not even dream of. He would see her passport as a badge of honour: she could, after all the horrors in Europe, still have one. He decided to kiss her again, deeply.

"You are English, are you not?" he asked, simply. And somehow he managed to convey his thoughts on the matter to her in that simple question. Pamela smiled back and claimed another kiss.

And so Victor and Pamela kept talking about all manner of things, both deep and mundane, of practical arrangements and the wedding. He would have been happy to comply with just about anything she wanted. In Victor's view the bride was the star of the show when it came to weddings. What ever she thought necessary and appropriate. And so he was a little surprised when she explained to him what she would like.

"I don't want a do. I don't even need the church, but I guess you'd like this to be a church affair. I don't need a fancy dress, and I'm happy to have the required number of witnesses. That's it. " She was quite serious when she said all this.

"Alright, I'm happy with everything you want, you know. If we can do this with a priest in a church, you're right, I would be pleased, but otherwise you don't have to hold back if you want to…" Victor couldn't finish his sentence when Pam gently pressed one finger to his lips.

"I'm quite sure, darling," she said quietly keeping those beautifully intense eyes of hers on his.

"Everyone else I've held dear in this world is gone. I haven't seen my mother since I was a girl, my father is gone, and so are just about all my friends. And it was close enough that lost you too. I would just like it to be us. It is to you I'll make that promise to. Of course, anyone you want there is a different matter, but from my side I cannot think of anyone."

But Victor was fairly certain that his guest list would be equally short. Byron was not around, and he was not even certain what the lie of the land was with Byron. It bothered him that they had all but fallen out at Hawaii over this, and he wasn't sure how to fix it. Byron had got it in his head that he had perhaps walked out on Rhoda. He wouldn't try to explain himself it meant that he'd have to make Byron see his mother in a different light. Her children were everything to Rhoda. She'd lost one son, he would not contribute to the chance of another being alienated from her even the slightest. Madeline was not available either. Would have so wanted his children there and to have their blessing on this new union in person, but it just was not possible. He'd seek peace with Byron later and seek out Maddie's approval later. Mind, Maddie had already written to him, telling him how happy she was for him so he wasn't really worried that there would be another schism building there. He just missed his girl.

"No, neither Maddie nor Byron are here," he said. "And my promise is for you."

This conversation was a little more on the solemn side so they stopped talking for a bit and simply held each other. "That was it, wasn't it" Victor thought to himself. "It's Pam I want to know how deeply I love her, and the change of our status will be announced fast enough around the town as it is." He would be making his public declaration even if there was absolutely no one else but the priest present with them at the church. Victor smiled at the thought of declaring his love for Pam. The persistent (or some might even say stubborn), spontaneous, fun, loving and gorgeous woman who in this very moment was pressed against him so deliciously. But the man was travel weary and the sweet lullaby of her breathing near his ear, punctuated with soft kisses on his temple, her scent and warmth all pulled him finally into deep slumber. Pamela stayed with him, herself marvelling the joy of having all this time so close to him, of having his arms around her and of feel how perfectly their bodies fit together.


End file.
